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| Volume 4 | Number 17 | Date: 23 September 2004 |
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CITES
EXPECTED TO BROADEN COVERAGE OF HEAVILY TRADED COMMODITIES CITES is one of the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) that contain specific trade obligations. WTO Members are currently involved in negotiations on the relationship between such obligations and multilateral trade rules. While the trade and environment regimes are frequently exhorted to be 'mutually supportive', conflicts can arise, particularly between those WTO Members that are party to an MEA and those who are not. Furthermore, the membership of CITES itself is often divided between commercial and environmental interests. Like its predecessors, the 13th Conference of the Parties (COP-13) has a number of important decisions to make in balancing these issues. Fish: Shark and wrasse The meeting is called upon to decide whether to list the valuable white shark and humphead wrasse in Appendix II (limited trade under strict controls). If the proposal to list the white shark, put forward by Madagascar and Australia, is adopted, it would become the third shark species placed in Appendix II, following the decision to list the whale and the basking sharks at COP-12. The humphead wrasse has been proposed for listing by Fiji, the EU and the US in an effort to combat over-fishing for use in Southeast Asian luxury restaurant food markets. Timber: Ramin and Agarwood After the inclusion of big-leafed mahogany in Appendix II at COP-12, Parties at this year's meeting will have to decide on the treatment of two other heavily trade timber species. Indonesia has proposed including in Annex II the agarwood and ramin trees (it has already listed the latter in Annex III, which contains species protected within the borders of a member country). Native to Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, the ramin tree has long been one of Southeast Asia's major export timbers. The proposed listing would include all ramin species, as well as their parts and derivatives. Found in Borneo, Malaysia and Sumatra, the agarwood tree produces the valuable 'agar' oil used for making incense, perfumes and medicines. The listing would cover all species (one of which has been listed since 1995). Medicinal plants: Hoodia cactus Among the medicinal plants, South Africa and Namibia have proposed the inclusion of the Hoodia cactus in Appendix II. The cactus has long been used by Africa's San people for its appetite-suppressing qualities. In 1996, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) patented the chemical entity extracted from hoodia and licensed the British pharmaceutical company Phytopharm to develop the plant's commercial potential. Phytopharm in turn sold the development and marketing rights to the Pfizer Corporation. The San peoples have high hopes for a share of the profits, should a drug be successfully marketed. Following lengthy negotiations, the CSIR concluded a memorandum of understanding with the San tribes in April 2002, which will serve as a basis for benefit-sharing, specifying that the San peoples will receive six percent of the royalties incurred. Mammals: Elephants and whales As at COPs past, elephants and whales will again make an appearance at COP-13. After the Parties in 2002 allowed one-off ivory sales for Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (which have yet to take place pending the establishment of baseline data on poaching and wild populations), Namibia is now requesting an annual export quota of two tonnes of ivory, and has proposed (supported by South Africa) to trade elephant leather commercially in addition to ivory. Opponents and supporters have been divided over the possible benefits of trade in ivory products to local communities and conservation programmes as weighed against concerns that such sales may encourage poaching. The supporters argue that resuming controlled trade would provide an economic incentive to sustainably use a valuable natural resource. Among other controversial issue, Japan has again put forward a proposal to move three populations of minke whale from Appendix I to Appendix II, arguing that these populations have sufficiently recovered to no longer be at risk. Japan and Norway have made similar proposals at past CITES meetings, all of which have been rejected. For the past 18 years, commercial whaling has been subject to a general ban by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Given that CITES decisions on trade in great whales must be consistent with the decisions of the IWC (pursuant to a CITES resolution adopted in 2000), many Parties feel that trade cannot resume until the ban has been lifted. Cross-cutting issues Underlying tensions regarding the pursuit of conservation objectives through restrictions or sustainable use are also likely to surface in a number of cross-cutting areas. In addition to its proposal on elephants, Namibia has put forward a submission regarding synergies between CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), focusing on the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines on sustainable use adopted at CBD COP-7 in early 2004 (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 20 February 2004). Namibia would like to see the Principles integrated into the work of CITES, including a definition of sustainable use when assessing whether trade will be detrimental to a species. The CITES Secretariat in its comment notes that "the term 'sustainable use' is not used in CITES and therefore requires no definition". Parties will also again discuss 'economic incentives', i.e. favouring positive measures to encourage range countries to preserve endangered species rather than establish CITES-plus controls in the importing countries. In this context, the Secretariat has proposed to conduct a review of Parties' national trade policies, including, the use of economic incentives, market access strategies and benefit-sharing arrangements. Additional Resources "Monitoring of Illegal Hunting in Elephant Range States", CITES Secretariat, 2004. Further information is also available on the TRAFFIC website.
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